---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With aching hands and bleeding feet We…"
description: "\"With aching hands and bleeding feet We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; We bear the burden and the heat Of the long day, and wish 'twere done. Not til..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/matthew-arnold-1235_aching_with-aching-hands-and-bleeding-feet-we-d_3171056.jpg"
---

#  With aching hands and bleeding feet We dig and heap, lay…

![“With aching hands and bleeding feet We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; We bear the burden and the heat Of the long day, and wish 'twere done. Not till the hours of light return All we have built do we discern.” quote by Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/matthew-arnold-1235_aching_with-aching-hands-and-bleeding-feet-we-d_3171056.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/matthew-arnold-1235_aching_with-aching-hands-and-bleeding-feet-we-d_3171056.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a22/matthew-arnold-1235_aching_with-aching-hands-and-bleeding-feet-we-d_3171056.jpg)

> “With aching hands and bleeding feet We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; We bear the burden and the heat Of the long day, and wish 'twere done. Not till the hours of light return All we have built do we discern.”

[Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker describes laborious toil under harsh conditions, yearning for relief when light returns, suggesting that work is endured for future hope.

**In simple terms:** Hard work feels endless until hope appears.

Key Takeaway

Seek rest and purpose beyond labor.

Themes

labor endurance hope exhaustion

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- construction work
- long shifts
- manual labor
- seasonal work

Key Concepts

existentialism human condition

Questions to Reflect On

- What gives you strength during hard days?
- How does hope change your perception of work?

A Different Perspective

Even with rest, fatigue may persist.

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[Aching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aching/) [Aching Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aching-hands-5771546/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Bleeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleeding/) [Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Feet Dig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet-dig-5771544/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Heat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heat/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Lay Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lay-stone-445734/) [Lays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lays/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-day/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stone/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/)

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> [“I was aching—all my body was aching for him, and I could tell he felt the same—and we were both almost too shy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-was-aching-all-my-body-was-aching-for-him-and-i-could-tell-he-felt/)

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> [“I went to a box room at the top of the house and locked myself in, in order to be alone with my aching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/i-went-to-a-box-room-at-the-top-of-the-house-and-locked-myself-in-in/)

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> [I didn't care if I was aching or hurting. I wanted to give the fans their money's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-sammartino/i-didn-t-care-if-i-was-aching-or-hurting-i-wanted-to-give-the-fans/)

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> [The only thing that cures the ache of loneliness is the ache of true love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cervantes/the-only-thing-that-cures-the-ache-of-loneliness-is-the-ache-of-true/)

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> [Love- what is love? A great and aching heart; Wrung hands; and silence; and a long despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/love-what-is-love-a-great-and-aching-heart-wrung-hands-and-silence/)

[Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/)

## More by Matthew Arnold

> [Culture looks beyond machinery, culture hates hatred; culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-looks-beyond-machinery-culture-hates-hatred-culture-has-one/)

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[Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/)

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[Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/)

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## More Aching quotes

> [I didn't care if I was aching or hurting. I wanted to give the fans their money's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-sammartino/i-didn-t-care-if-i-was-aching-or-hurting-i-wanted-to-give-the-fans/)

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